John Monks custom carpentry and his entire process is excellent from start to finish. He provided an estimate based on pictures. He listened to what I had in mind, made suggestions to make the project better, and completed it in a few hours. He is a master at what he does. I highly recommend John Monks At Trim Works Inc. for your project. read more

We tasked him with removing and then re-installing light rails underneath our cabinets to allow for installation of new countertops and backsplash. He quoted us a very high price, $700, for such a simple job, but I figured that if he was good, then it was worth it. He was very difficult to communicate with. He kept changing the day and the time that he would show up. He produced really shoddy work while rushing through our job as quickly as he could (only spent 15 minutes to remove it and 20 minutes re-installing). When he returned to re-install the trim, he banged the trim carrying it down the hallway and broke a corner after telling us to be very careful with it to avoid damaging any corners. You can see in the pictures all of the exposed nails, the gaps in the caulk, the light pouring through the gaps between the cabinet and the light rail, and the message i got back from him when I told him I thought his work was poor and would not pay him more than the $350 we paid him on his first visit. read more

See all

John made some beautiful built-ins for our home in Colorado Springs. He was punctual and helped us pick out a design that was most appropriate for the style of our home. The pics speak for themselves. read more

Trim Works - Carpenters Near Me

See all

Do not bother using this company. This guy charged us $700 for putting up a light rail that we already had (no materials cost) and did a horrible job. There are gaps between the cabinet and light rail, caulk that was on the cabinets from where he removed it was not scraped appropriately. The entire job is just messy and looks like my toddler did it. He took about 20 mins for this project, making his hourly rate $2,100...I'm sorry, is this neurosurgery you are performing?? I had another carpenter come and look at the work to fix this shotty job and was quoted $50 to remove and reattach the light rail properly with no gaps. In addition to the horrible craftsmanship, this guy is a nightmare to communicate with - won't actually give a date/time that he is available to come do the work. Then finally after talking for 3 weeks and paying him half, he puts us on the schedule, only to say he's showing up an hour before the scheduled time so I had to rush home. The entire experience just felt like he was doing us a favor (yet charging us an arm and a leg). He is simply not interested in actually helping you as a customer and makes you feel like you're a nuisance. Honestly I did not feel comfortable being around him and couldn't wait for him to get out of my house. Save yourself the headache and your money and go with someone else for your carpentry needs. read more

John is a true talent. He's done work in several of my homes. Top shelf level quality and class act all the way around. Reasonably priced and I'm always happy with his final product. read more

See all

After interviewing numerous carpenters that came highly recommended, we hired John from Trim Works. His quote was competitive, timeline exceptional and knowledgeable (recommended numerous painters as options). His work was all fabricated on-site - allowing for full customization and iteration as he went - a huge upside for something like this. He constructed a custom desk/bookshelf as well as a mud room storage wall in two days - start to finish. He worked incredibly fast with high attention to detail - a testament to his expertise. I would highly recommend him! read more

See all

We were thrilled with the quality of work John provided and consider him our "go-to" now for any millwork and carpentry needs in the future. He was very responsive and immediately committed to helping us despite it being a small project during a busy time of year for him. I highly recommend John if you are looking for exceptional craftsmanship and on-time and on-budget delivery of a project. read more

Thank Heavens I did Not hire Trim Works!! His bid was more than double, the industry standard!! He was Really Egotistical! And not Professional to deal with!! CUSTOMER BEWARE **** read more

This was our fourth home which we had extensive millwork done including builtins, crown molding, windows etc. John by far was the most skilled professional craftsman we have had the pleasure of working with and his work was exceptional. He came through on everything he said and promised. He responded to any of my text within minutes. Unlike other companies John did the work himeslf, and he does not drag out but completes on time and with perfection. We had tried for 3 months to find a carpenter, contacted at least 15 with most not even having the courtesy of providing a response. I called John once, he picked up, walked me through what he needed and got the job done. thank John, we will be using again! read more

We used John Monks to build a custom bookshelf into a wall in our office. Working with him was a dream! He was able to customize the built-in exactly like we envisioned, and he moves quickly. He arrived with all the tools and materials to get started right away, and he was finished sooner than he estimated both days. He had solid recommendations for an electrician and painter, and he takes his craft seriously. He's very responsive and fair. We will use him again for any custom work we need in the future. read more

Trim Works - John as he finishes installing the custom drawers - Carpenters Near Me

See all

My experience with John was completely different from others. We had him build a simple bench with cabinets and shoe racks in our mudroom and he did exactly what we asked for. He gave us options as far as the types of cabinet doors and explained the cost differences based on those options. He came on a weekend and built it in 2.5-3 hours. Super quick and cleaned up after himself. He does not paint so he recommended a painter that could do the job for us. John has a strong personality so maybe that turned off other customers, but he showed up on time and did the work we asked for at what we thought was a fair price. This is far better than most experiences we've had with contractors who overprice and don't show up on time (or at all) in Denver. We would recommend him to any of our friends. read more

See all

John Monks is an artist and a master at creating high quality, innovative carpentry. He helped me a create a vision that my architect designed for an under-stairs book shelf and bench that would enclose a trundle bed for my nieces. He also masterfully created wainscoting in spite of an uneven floor surface. I cant recommend him more highly. See pics attached. read more

See all

We recently had John make some built ins for our living room. From the beginning of the process John was easy to reach and prompt with replies. He made the installation work with my tight work schedule and we appreciate being able to customize the entire project to fit our needs. They came out great and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for build ins or any kind of finishing carpentry. We're looking forward to using him on our future projects. read more

See all

John was a pleasure to work with! A rarity among contractors, he showed up on time, completed the work as promised and with no delays or surprises, was reasonably priced and left the work site clean and tidy. Can't ask for more than that! I will definitely be calling him again to do another built in for my media room. read more

John was super helpful in installing two new doors for us. His work was thorough and fast and he did a great job! Highly recommended!

If you care at all about your house or your money, head the other way. This has been the most disappointing experience in remodeling our house. He's not careful. He's messy. He's deceptive. He cuts corners. He's disrespectful to the requests of the person that's paying him. We had him install crown molding, a faux beam to cover a gap where we took a wall down, and install open shelving in our kitchen. I'd call the crown molding job fine. It needs A LOT of caulk and touchup and he mitered the corners instead of coping them, making me a little wary of their long-term worth. The worst part of that job is that he dripped wood glue on our curtains and our tile and wall and floor. I was able to scrape it off the tile but not anywhere else. The shelves are where things went horribly at every step. We have counter to ceiling tile and he informed us that because he was going through tile, there was more expense for drill bits that could go through tile and it would be slow, careful work. But then, he installed the brackets only go through the grout which means the brackets are not in line with each other, nor are they spaced evenly apart. The space between the bottom and middle shelf is 14 inches and the space between the middle and top is 18. That's a huge difference in my mind and is not what I spaced out when I taped up the mock up. Just as awkward, the top shelf is 2 inches shorter than the others. His offer was to come and cut down the others. I did not want that. I don't want them any shorter. They already stop short of running the entire wall by a few inches, which is weird to me, I don't want them any shorter. It all looks haphazard. And there is nothing I can do about it. Then, he messed up where he put the top shelf and I called him right after he left to tell him that and ask him to come back and fix it. When he showed back up, he seemed far more concerned that he was going to miss his gym session than he was about doing the job he had been paid to do. His first question when I pointed out his mistake was 'well, has your husband seen it?' No, he hadn't, but I'm the person that just wrote you a massive check for a shitty job & I'm the one asking you to make it a little less shitty. Maybe try not act like the gym is more important than the kitchen I have to live with. Then, when he moved the top shelf to a slightly better place, he didn't level the brackets and one is nearly a half inch lower than the other three. He was deceptive and overcharged. I asked for a long run of shelves over the sink and a short run near the stove that would attach at the corner. He told us how many brackets we'd need for that and I ordered that many. This is also what he gave us a quote for. It was a third more material than just the long run and would have been a lot more labor than just the long run because he would have had to biscuit join the shelves in the corner. When he blew in the day of, he hastily talked us out of the corner and then still charged us for the full quote. It just feels shady to me to agree to something, quote it, show up, talk people out of it and still charge for it. To top that off the board he talked us out of using, but we got to keep, because we paid for it - is split. Am I supposed to believe he didn't know that? He's messy. And knows it. He leaves dust and grout and plaster where it falls and on his way out the doors says, 'you have a vacuum to clean that right?' I don't expect any carpenter or handyperson to be a maid, but I do expect that you make an attempt to clean up the mess you made. He also gave me no confidence the shelves are going to hold up. He actually had the audacity to say, after he was done, that he doesn't do this kind of work often and he's curious if the anchors he used are going to be able to take the weight. Not what anyone wants to hear. I would have paid any amount of money to have the shelves I asked for. This isn't about money, it's about getting a horrible job for the money we spent. If you aren't capable of doing a job and doing it in the way you say you will, then just say no to the job. read more

Cannot recommend enough! John was incredibly fast at responding to any questions I had throughout the whole process and so pleasant to work with. Super nice guy! And he knows his stuff. He installed a custom window seat and built in bookshelves in September 2017 (so this is very overdue because he was done in 2 days). He was so incredibly fast and worked with precision. He kept his work space clean and made sure my house stayed clean as he came in and out. And the unit itself is exactly what I wanted and looks amazing. I get compliments on it all the time. He stuck to his estimate, which he provided up front, and gave me a run down on what to expect and when. The whole process was super easy and I am thrilled with how it turned out. I will absolutely recommend him to anyone and call him first if I need more work done in other parts of the house! read more

Trim Works - Fantastic window seat and built in bookshelves! Built so fast and John was wonderful to work with. - Carpenters Near Me

Found John online when attempting to quickly pull together a DIY built in bookshelf project; he responded immediately and was incredibly straight forward with expectations, timing, and cost. The day we scheduled for the work, John arrived ahead of schedule and reviewed with us exactly what he was going to do and what to expect. Everything turned out perfectly - the work was exactly what we had hoped for, was of amazing quality, and was affordable compared to other quotes we received. John is a great craftsman, personable, reliable, punctual, and a great planner/communicator. We highly recommend his work and service! read more

Had a very similar experience to the other reviews. Although he is responsive, John is not easy to work with and is not interested in the client's opinions. He is very expensive and works very fast. He did not clean up well after himself. One of the shelves he built broke almost immediately and he refused to take responsibility for the poor quality of his work. His work is marginal and he is mean. read more

John came highly recommended by one of Denver's leading real estate manager who has been in Denver for more than 20 years who has seen a lot of carpentry over the years. I wanted to have an entertainment center built for a small study that could be taken with me when I moved. John built a beautiful piece of furniture made of solid wood with crown moldings. He was always on time, finished ahead of schedule and devoted extra time to explaining the process. He's an artist and a delight. I recommend him without reservation. read more

John was great to work with on custom bookcases in our home office. He was very responsive and professional. He scheduled our project very quickly, answered all of our questions, worked very efficiently, and clearly knew what he was doing. We're very happy with the finished product, would recommend him, and would use him again for other projects in our house. read more

I used the recommendation of John Monks to do laundry cabinets, a built in bench in our mudroom and a closet system. I have to say I would not recommend John at this moment. He is clearly very busy at the moment which translates into not a lot of care or time put into discussing what the customer wants or making any adjustments. He quickly told me when he arrived after I had waited 6 weeks for his services that he was totally booked up after me and might not be able to complete my job as originally stated. This was a frustrating start. As mentioned he is very fast - he did all three areas over two half days (left around 1pm both days) and the end product is okay. Originally he said he would go to work and then we could talk about additional adjustments. After he completed the basic mudroom bench, I asked if he could build some cubbies and a divider, both of which I had asked for at the beginning. At that point I was told once I had the thing painted he could come back at a later date for an additional fee and make adjustments. This was a bit disappointing given I had described what I was looking for and provided photos in advance. On one occasion I asked for something that once it was in I just found to be asthetically unappealing. I asked him to remove that piece of wood and he raised his voice to me. And said that "you must be kidding me". I thought that was unprofessional. He apologized afterwards, but even then it was an "I'm sorry, but you really should have known what you wanted".... He also scratched a couple walls in the rooms he was working in so I will have to now have my painters paint his work as well as repaint the walls. He continually excused his behaviour saying he is just so busy. All to say - maybe when he isn't so busy he is worth a call, but unless you are comfortable taking what he gives you, having little to say in the process, and being left with damage and clean up - I would pass on him and wait till he has more time to do a thorough complete job. I should have paid more attention to the poor reviews on this site - it was a disappointing experience. It sounds like when he wants to he does a great job, just didn't feel like my project got that level of attention. read more

John was professional, straightforward, easy to work with, and did a great job on a custom mantle/built-in shelving unit in our home. We contacted him on a Saturday and the job was done (and on budget) by Wednesday afternoon -- a day ahead of his two-day timeline! The custom unit is really well made and significantly improved the look and functionality of our bedroom. My husband and I are very happy with the whole experience. Can't wait to have it painted! Highly recommend Trim Works. read more

If you're looking for a meticulous, professional and trustworthy craftsman, look no further. John has completed multiple projects on my historical home that have revived the charm and character I was hoping to achieve. I highly recommend John to anyone who's looking for custom carpentry to transform their space. read more

I called John because he built a desk unit for my neighbor and I was looking for something similar. He called me back and we discussed options. He showed up bright and early and built me exactly what I wanted. He was fast and did a great job. I was reading through the negative reviews on here and I didn't experience anything negative with John. He did most of the messy work outside and then built the unit inside. I thought he was very friendly and he left my driveway and the floors spotless. I will definitely call him in the near future for some additional work and I would refer him to anyone! read more

Did a decent job on the small mudroom build but tracked tons of mess through the house and left an even bigger mess of sawdust all over the front lawn and hardscape! Would never use this company again for being so disrespectful to the yard and our house. Was NOT NICE to my wife during the half day construction as well. Find another option. read more

The work is pretty good and he does work extraordinarily fast, but possibly too fast. Felt rushed and a bit pushy, as though he was telling us what we wanted rather than listening to what we wanted. Also asked for cash if possible. You pay a high rate for his work and a big mess was left for me to clean up on our brand new wood floors. Let us know he had left scraps for us to dispose of and hoped that was ok as he was walking out the door. I was happy with the work but immediately became dissatisfied with all the saw dust left everywhere and doing a quite retrospective of what just happened. Not worth it for the price. Also was not able to apologize when these issues were brought up; guessing hubris got in the way. There are cheaper and more respectful carpenters out there. read more

John's trim work transformed the look of our home. We added 5" baseboards throughout our main level, as well as wall paneling in our laundry room, half bath, and upper level landing. He was professional and friendly. His communication was outstanding; he stayed in touch with me throughout the process, letting me know when materials would be delivered, when he would arrive, and how long his work would take. His work is good quality, compared to other trim carpenters I've used. His schedule was dead on, in fact he finished earlier than we expected with each job. I didn't ask for other quotes on this job, so I cannot compare cost, I can say his final price was exactly what he estimated. All of his debris went into the dumpster that was in our driveway, which he asked to use. We would definitely hire him again. read more